Fun, Family and Flu

Well I've been way out of the loop ... but I can't leave my faithful readers hanging for too long ... so I'd better at least pop in here!

We had the privilege of going to California two weeks ago ... where Chris officiated our niece Chelsea's wedding and the girls were (darling) flower girls!

The day after the wedding I got sick with the flu ... and remained sick for about 10 days. Our sweet Juliya also got sick ... so things have been a little slow going around here!

We had a quick visit with our dear friends ... the Earl girls :o) ... who came down to visit. We also went to the beach for at least a little bit each day. Is this not the coolest park ... let's just swing and take in the ocean view at the same time!!! Oh ... I (we) LOVE San Diego!!!

Here are a few pictures to enjoy ...

Enjoy!!

Living in a Barnyard!!

Our little girls have the most amazing imaginative minds!

Today they woke up from their naps being a piggy (Juliya) and a moo moo (Nataliya). They stay in character until they inform me and each other that they are something/someone new. So, depending on the moment ... if I ask "would you like some juice?" they answer "Oink, oink!!" or "Moo, Moo!" or "Arf, Arf!!" I just crack up!

The little pigs have a mud puddle they play in ... that is all of the tan/brown colored pillows off of our couches put in a circle ... if they crawl over the pillows ... they are all muddy. Then they need a gup, gup (their word for a bath). So then they roll around on the blue blanket we have in the family room and they get all clean!!

Since waking up from their naps ... about 40 minutes ago ... they have been pigs, cows, dogs (Lola and Spirit ... two dogs we know), Mommy, Kasie, John and DD (our friend Danielle). I'm sure I'll encounter 10-12 more characters before bedtime! It sure keeps things interesting and entertaining!!

As I write ... they are watching a Raffi concert ... recorded in the 70's. This is the fourth time we've watched it today ... and we were gone from home from 8:45 am - 3:00 pm. But they are so cute ... b/c they are up standing in front of the TV ... doing everything the kids on the video do ... singing along ... quoting Raffi ... and dancing with their dogs all at the same time.

They just put their puppies on their leashes (you know, the purple and pink ones Daddy brought home from his last trip) and took them "out" to go potty!!! :o) DD (Juliya) ran back to tell me her puppy is sniffing! :o) And John (Nataliya) is excited she put the leash on and took it off without any help. Oh ... now she is Mommy and talking on her cell phone!

At Christmas time ... the girls were given kitty outfits from their big sissy Kaysha. Here they are dressed up as kitty cats! Kaysha included a note with the gifts "someone has to teach them how cute a kitty cat can be!!" ... she knows me all to well ... that my children would never be exposed to cats unless someone else did it!!!

As you can see ... they keep me on my toes ... and it really is no wonder I'm so tired at night that I hardly ever write on this blog!

So ... it's time to head out to the barn and feed all my animals!!

SISTERS!!!

These are a few of my favorite pictures from the past few months. Several years ago I bought this really cute wooden snowman as a Chrismas decoration. This year the girls were exactly as tall as our little snowman guy! My plan is to take a picture of them next to this wooden snowman every year ... it will be so fun to see how they grow!

I tried really hard to get a "nice" picture in front of the Christmas tree ... but this one of them yelling something at the top of their lungs will just have to do!! It certainly captures them! :o)









All of the pictures I post show such happy moments. Well, as you can imagine ... not all of our moments are happy. These crying pictures are actually really cute!

Nataliya was exhausted and ready for bed ... I'm not even sure what she was crying about ... but it truly was cute ... and then to just lay her head on her sisters lap ... soooooo sweet! Juliya is a very nurturing big sister (when she wants to be!).

Family Fun

1. Mommy and Juliya
2. Nataliya and Daddy
3. Funny faces with Mommy
4. Welcome Home Daddy! (picking Daddy up at the airplane port!)

Fun Little Sisters!!

Well ... here I am trying to post some pictures ... and I have no idea why they are sideways and/or upside down!! :o) I guess to make the viewing more interesting!!
Enjoy!
1. Girls on the steps ... just being cute!
2. Girls trying on their dresses for cousin Chelsea's wedding.
3. Natalie Joy waiting for Daddy pick her up and do another flip!!
4. Sweet Juliya in her piggy jammies (you can't really see those) with her piggy puppet!

Who Knew!?!?!

This weekend Daddy was gone to Minnesota. When he left he told the girls he would bring them home a present ... but they needed to be good girls for Mommy in order to get it.

Well before he even left the house with his bags ... Juliya was putting in her gift request ... a collar and leash ... for her puppy. She doesn't have a puppy mind you ... several imaginary ones that she snaps her fingers at and tells them "come Lola, come!!" (she gets the name Lola from a friend who has a dog by that name.) She also has this teeny tiny dog that lives in a bug catcher cage ... way too small for a collar & leash. But she was truly jumping up and down soooooooo excited at the thought of getting a collar and leash. I did make sure to tell her she wouldn't be using the collar and leash on her sister ... who often pretends to be a dog!! :o)

So, Chris called me when he got down to the airport in Indy ... and he was actually a bit early for his flight ... so he decided to use the time to run down to K-Mart (or is it BIG K now) and find the presents! And there they were ... in the "small pet needs" aisle ... one purple, one pink ... perfect! Later that day the girls told me they wanted a pink and purple one ... little did they know Daddy already had them in his possession.

Tonight when Daddy came home the girls received their gifts ... and immediately we put them on some stuffed animal puppies they have. They drug them all around the house ... snapping their fingers at them telling them to "come!" and/or "go!" ... even taking them "outside" to go potty!

I will say I am liking these animal choices! The girls are content with all of their imaginary and stuffed animals ... and I'm hoping it stays that way for a long time!! :o)

Honestly ... They Get Cuter Everyday!!!

I'm not sure when I last wrote ... so I thought I'd better drop in ... for those loyal readers who check our blog!!

Last weekend the girls and I enjoyed a visit with Auntie Icki (that's Vicki to the rest of the world). She came from Florida for a long weekend and we all had a great time!! Oh, we also froze our butts off!

One cute thing is that Vicki recently colored her hair ... much darker than it has ever been. When she arrived last week ... it was late in the evening ... so the girls didn't see her until the next morning. After Juliya went to wake her up ... she (Juliya) came downstairs and found a framed photo of Auntie Icki (with her formerly highlighted blonde hair) and brought it back up stairs. Then she started telling us "dis Icki!! dis Icki!" ... she was trying to say she wanted "this Icki ... with blonde hair!" But eventually she forgot about Icki's hair color and just enjoyed having her here!

Nataliya's funny line for this week happened yesterday. Let me set it up. Nataliya really likes Mommy to carry her ... it is her preferred mode of transportation! :o) So, I have said to her on many occasions "what ... are your legs broken?" So yesterday I was carrying her from the van into the library when about half way through the parking lot she says "Taliya legs broken!" (in her cute little voice) and I laughed sooooooooooooo hard! It just cracked me up that she pulled it out of the blue!

Tonight we had a house full of people from the church planter's assessment center. It was so fun to have a houseful ... it took Chris and I both back to some of our favorite days of pastoring ... that of having lots of people in our home ... connecting ... enjoying themselves, etc. The girls were gone with friends for about half of the evening ... then came home and delighted everyone with their presence. We were so proud of how they handled having a house full of strangers when they came home. Warming up sweetly to those who spoke to them ... playing ... being themselves ... saying goodbye, etc. What little darlings they are!!!

Well, this Mommy is going to bed!!

I'm Flattered!!

Here are some pictures of our latest crazy game with Daddy. Jump down the stairs ... from the landing ... into Daddy's arms (he is standing at the bottom)! They love it!! It certainly shows the trust they have in their Daddy to catch them!! Nataliya with her piggies ... waiting in the van for her teacher to come get her for school ... and the girls talking on their cell phones! BTW, Nataliya picked out her own clothes ... she was into stripes that day!! Yes, the phones are real ... but they (obviously) don't have cell service ... but don't tell them! :o)

If "imitation is the highest form of flattery" ... then I'm very flattered. Our sweet Juliya is forever imitating much of what I do (for good and for bad!!). When I'm cooking ... she's cooking, when I'm typing on my computer ... she's typing on hers, when I'm folding laundry ... she's folding laundry, when I'm talking ... she's talking. Sometimes I find it so hard to carry on a real conversation ... b/c she echoes just about everything I say (with a phone up to her ear or making hand gestures as I do)! Yes ... this keeps me careful about what is coming out of my mouth (including my tone of voice!). I really just chalk it up to her developing her language skills!

The girls LOVE to pretend. They pretend to be lots of other people ... or piggies or puppies or ... well you just never know!! Juliya will often decide in her head who she wants to "be" ... but she can't remember their name. So, she begins patting her chest and looking at me with a big question mark ... as if to say "what's my name?" So I begin guessing ... starting with the people we have most recently been with! I'm getting pretty good at this guessing thing!! :o)

This week the girls have a special treat to look forward to. Their Auntie Icki (Vicki) is coming from Florida for a 5 day visit. We will have a wonderful time with her ... I can hardly wait!!! I'll tell you all about it next weekend.

A First

Yesterday I took the girls to meet a friend who wanted to keep them overnight. They were excited to go ... as our friend is a TON of fun ... so they always love to be with her. She actually lives close ... but she was taking the girls to see her family. Nataliya was saying "Mommy no go. Mommy stay" as we approached the drop off spot ... but once she saw our friend she was excited to go with her.

So ... Chris and I had about 30 hours without our darlings. It was quiet. It was relaxing. It was refreshing. Oh, and did I mention it was quiet?!?! We went to dinner, did a little shopping, watched football (of course ... it's the playoffs ... I can't miss any games now!!).

Now for today ... my amazing husband really pulled out all of the punches. He took my place at church. I direct and teach our children's ministry ... but he did it all. I stayed home, slept in, drank coffee, stayed in my jammies, drank more coffee ... b/c it was hot and yummy and no one was interrupting me ... read my Bible, journaled, prayed ... ahhhh it was wonderful. Wow! What a husband I have. Oh wait ... he did more ... yesterday while I was out (delivering the girls and working on some church stuff) ... he took ALL of our Christmas decorations down (tree included), packed it all up, stored it all back in the basement and cleaned the house. I know ... I have an awesome husband! I'm very grateful ... and blessed!!

The little ones are home now. It was wonderful to wrap my arms around them again. I think one night away was just the right amount for all of us (at this point in life).

Tomorrow we are back in the swing of things ... dance, gymnastics and school on Tuesday.

I'm headed to bed (I've had such a rough day!!). Not really ... but I do want to be prepared for tomorrow!!

Already a New Year!!

Ok ... so life got a little busy with Christmas! :o) Blogging was way on the back burner!!

We had a wonderful "first" Christmas with the girls (we had been home for 10 days last year). We had good friends spend Christmas with us and we made lots of great memories. Their boys, Zach and Seth just adore the girls ... so there were many sweet moments!

We first met our friends Jeff & Janna when they were in college at Black Hills State University and they attended our church. Chris was privileged to perform their marriage ceremony and to dedicate both of their babies. We all lived in Madison, WI at the same time and planted a church there. Now they live in the Chicago area now ... so they made the wintry trek over here to spend Christmas with us.

We also had a great time with Grampy and Bushka (Chris' parents) ... as they live just over the highway from us! Needless to say ... it was fun for everyone to have little ones around for Christmas!! They prepared a wonderful Christmas dinner for all of us

On Christmas Eve we had a houseful of friends for our traditional Christmas Eve Mexican dinner. This year we added a pinata for all the kids ... it was lots of fun!!

The girls are terrified of Santa. I've heard them say dozens of times "no like Santa ... like Snowman better!" So we didn't have Santa visit the house ... that would have freaked them out!!!

Happy New Year!

Pictures are on a separate post.

Coming to America!

December 13th is the day we left Ukraine ... with our two precious daughters ... and headed for home!!!
The flights were really not that bad. Ok, maybe there were a few moments! :o) Like the last 1/2 hour of our flight into Amsterdam ... ... plug your ears people ... she isn't going to quit screaming ... until she gets out of this seatbelt!!! Or the meltdown we (ok, she) had on the Amsterdam to Chicago flight ... but that too came to an end.
What I remember more ... is that I was the proud Mommy of two adorable girls. I was prepared for them to cry all the way ... so the few eruptions we had ... were really brief in comparison to the amount of time we spent in the air (or sitting at the gate!).
The girls had faced SO MUCH change in the previous 5 days ... I couldn't even imagine how they were processing it.
God gave us an amazing gift on our flight from Amsterdam to Chicago ... his name is Chuck. He sat next to Juliya and was sooooooooooooooooooo sweet to her ... it still brings tears to my eyes thinking of it! Chuck is a very successful business man from Chicago. He could have buried his head in a paper or his work ... but he chose to befriend a little girl and her family ... and we will always be forever grateful for his friendliness during that flight!!
Nataliya took to cleaning the airplane with baby wipes ... who knew that could be such fun!!
After arriving in Chicago we were met at the airport by Chris' parents and two of my brothers (Don & Jon). It was wonderful to see loved ones again. Juliya ran right up to her new Bushka ... which of course we all found amazing ... and precious!!
We stayed that night at a hotel in Chicago. The girls had the chance to meet some of their "extended" family. Paul & Chris and Elsa Bickett, Jeff & Janna and Zach & Seth Mudlin, and Auntie Janelle. It was a sweet time to all be together. Even though we were totally exhausted and hadn't slept in about 28 hours!
Here are some pictures of the journey!
1) Daddy, Juliya and Mr. Chuck!!!


2) Nataliya cleaning the seats on the KLM 747 ... we could have kept her busy doing this for a very long time!!!
3) Uncle Jon (from San Diego, CA), Uncle Don (from Madison, WI), Mommy (their sister) and the girls.

4. Nataliya and Zach Mudlin ... have a blast together!!!
Our first day ended in America with the girls falling asleep right in the middle of all the commotion ... while everyone was still there! They were tired! Unfortunately, Juliya was awake at 2:00 am ... and NOT too happy about where she was or what was going on. It was loud and ugly for about 2 hours. :o) But that too passed ... and I would have been screaming and crying if I were her too ... just ask my mom ... :o)

Baking, Ballet and Balance Beams!

Our morning started out very early ... with little ones waking us up at 5:30 am. We tried getting them to go back to sleep ... it was a no go. But they were acting so cute and funny ... we really didn't mind. (of course, later ... when the whining kicked it ... it wasn't so cute!) So ... because our day started so early ... we had lots of time to do things before heading out for dance and gymnastics.

The girls love to help me cook and/or bake ... so they took their spots up on the island in the kitchen and we baked up some bars to give away tomorrow. Of course they licked every bowl, spoon, spatula, etc. ... which is the fun part!!

We headed off for dance (Juliya) and gymnastics (Nataliya). They are at the same facility and overlap a little so it works really well. Here are some pictures ... but I'm not sure how to rotate them ... so you'll have to tip your head back and forth!






It is so fun to watch them in their classes. They are both doing really well in their areas and they enjoy going.

After the gym ... we picked up Daddy and went to lunch. That's always a fun treat for all of us!!

Afternoon naps were not as long as I had hoped ... but the girls did play well this afternoon (as was evidenced by the house being a complete disaster area when Chris came home from work!). I was just trying to survive! :o) We had a fun evening at home with Daddy (he was gone over the weekend) ... so the day ended well.

It really is amazing how far we've come in the past year! We are so blessed!!

Hillsongs Kyiv

A year ago today ... Chris and I took the girls to Hillsong Kyiv ... an AWESOME church in Ukraine. We were so warmly welcomed by the people there. A beautiful lady named Natasha (pictured in the middle) spoke both English and Russian ... and she became a wonderful part of our experience. She took such an interest in the girls and our story and she literally escorted us all over the place showing us the ropes.

Juliya LOVED the worship time in the children's ministry. We stayed with the girls through the worship time ... then they went into a little Sunday school class and we went to service.

Below is a video of Juliya clapping and dancing as they sing. It was a thrilling moment for us to watch her. As you may recall ... we hadn't seen much joy from her in the weeks previous ... but her little heart of worship was shining through.

This is the story of these pictures ... I will write more on a different entry.

Our First Day as a Family!!

Our hands were quite full on our first full day as a family. We arrived in Kyiv around 9:00 am and were met by an awesome driver (Sasha) who took wonderful care of us and our stuff. We went back to the same apartment where we had stayed at the beginning of this journey and tried to get settled in with the girls.
Kostya was also on the train with us ... but in a different car. At the train station we met his beautiful wife and son ... then connected with them later in the day.
We bought one stroller in Kherson ... and both girls fit in it. Usually we were pushing one and carrying the other ... but it did come in handy getting us around Kyiv and then from Ukraine home to the USA.
As Chris and I were walking down the street in Kyiv on that Saturday afternoon ... I said to him "I spy a family! And it's us!!" I had been waiting many long years to enjoy that feeling of being a family!!
We walked to meet Kostya and his family at a favorite Ukrainian restaurant of theirs and it was wonderful to have his wife help me know what things the girls would enjoy eating. Kostya and Olga are still very dear to us and the girls. We have two dolls in our house named Olga! :o)
Later in the evening we attempted a bath with the girls. Juliya did not think this was such a great idea ... it wasn't pretty. But after she got out and had the remote control back in her hot little hands ... she was just fine!!
Getting the girls to sleep was another major undertaking! :o) Chris recalls singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Juliya until he almost didn't have a voice.
Fast forward a year. Tonight I have the girls a bath and while they were in the tub I was putting away laundry. During that time they managed to empty the contents of the shampoo and two bottles of conditioner into the bath water! Oh yes, they have gotten over their fear of taking a bath!!! Little stinkers!!!
These were some beautiful and equally really tough days a year ago ... but we made it through!!
Celebrating our life together ...

Life as a Family!

These pictures are from this week. The frist two were taken Thursday evening while we were decorating for Christmas. The other two are just the girls at home. They LOVE each other and LOVE playing with each other ... their relationship really is so sweet to watch and experience.

Train Ride to Kyiv, Ukraine

1. Train in Ukraine
2. girls eating "dinner" on the train (we bought yogurt, bananas and bread at the convenience store at the train station).

3. we only had one change of clothes for nataliya ... so she ate dinner with her shirt off! it was hot on the train!

4. juliya looking adorable at the little table in our train compartment.

One Year Ago!!

Wow ... who knew that 365 days could fly by so quickly.

One year ago tonight we finally had our daughters in our arms ... a forever family ... at last!!!

Tonight we are all sleeping in the comfort of our cozy beds in our home. A year ago tonight we "slept" in a train car ... traveling between Kherson and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Because of a speaking engagement Chris has tomorrow ... we are actually celebrating our big day with the girls next Saturday. That will make one year since we have been home together.

The next post will have some pictures from the train ride last year and some pictures of the girls this week.

Have I mentioned how much we absolutely love and adore our girls?!?!?!?! They are both beyond wonderful ... we are so grateful.